Newsquest grows profits | Publishers hunt first-party data after Google cookie U-turn
And AI-driven newsletter publisher Trending Now changes logo after Buzzfeed legal complaint
Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Tuesday, 24 September.
Has your journalism made a difference over the last year? Entries to the 2024 British Journalism Awards close at midnight on Friday. Entries are free for those from previously under-represented groups who don't an employer to back them.
The latest accounts for Newsquest show there is plenty of money to made on the way down for regional press owners and it may even be possible to halt the slide.
The UK regional press today is around a quarter of the size it was in 2007 (the eve of the financial crash), both in revenue and headcount terms. But the UK's second largest local news publisher shows there is still plenty of life left in local media by achieving only a slight year on year drop in revenue in 2023 and growing its profitability.
Newsquest is keeping the show on the road by growing online subscriptions to a small (yet significant) level of around £6m per year. And by turning local advertising sales operations into a complete marketing solution for small and medium-sized businesses (even helping customers to buy advertising with Facebook and Google).
Newsquest makes the point in its results for 2023 that local newsbrands reach three-quarters of the UK population yet account for just 2% of government advertising spend. Given Google has been found to be running an illegal monopoly in search, and will likely face the same verdict over its advertising business, the UK government should not be spending a penny with it. Ditto the social media companies which are making billions out of frying our children's brains.
Better surely to spend taxpayers' money with local media businesses which provide a vital watchdog role and help bind communities together.
Newsquest digital transformation director Morgan Stevenson was among the advertising executives sharing their insights at Press Gazette's recent Future of Media Technology Conference.
Our report of the panel shows that, broadly speaking, UK publishers appear to be a lot happier about the world of advertising then they were a year ago. Publisher ad revenue has likely been helped by a slight uptick in the economy and Google's U-turn on phasing out cookies.
Executives from The Telegraph and Forbes also shared their insights into ways news publishers can stay ahead of the game in an advertising ecosystem utterly dominated by parasitic tech platforms.
And finally, a newsletter publisher has unveiled a new logo after receiving a legal threat from Buzzfeed. This story is a warning to all designers about the dangers of using a zigzag upward-facing arrow.
New from Press Gazette
Local press ‘does not have to be in decline’ says Newsquest as it grows profits
The accounts also reveal the extent of the challenge at Archant, previously the UK's fourth largest regional newspaper group, which was bought by Newsquest in March 2022.
‘Bastards’: Publishers remain focused on alternatives despite Google cookies U-turn
“I think what Google did, and others that were focused on this cookieless future, is they really got us thinking more about our first-party solutions, about the way that we could better understand our audiences.”
AI-aggregated newsletter firm changes logo after Buzzfeed legal threat
Buzzfeed issued a “cease and desist” letter over the Trending Now logo, which featured a circle containing an arrow pointing up and to the right with a kink downwards and up again in the middle.
News in brief
B2B publisher Mark Allen Group has acquired travel and aviation-focused Sixth Continent Holdings, including flagship title The Moodie Davitt Report, for an undisclosed sum. (Press Gazette)
Ofcom has said LBC breached the Broadcasting Code for failing to provide a full list of London mayoral candidates in three programmes featuring a debate and two interviews about the election. (Ofcom)
New Daily Beast executives and partial owners Joanna Coles and Ben Sherwood have said in their first interview that their "focus is to be an intelligent tabloid" and they think the audience will respond to "sharp, short, relevant pieces". They also want to ensure it's a "sustainable business". (Variety)
The Washington Post's standalone software business Arc XP, which has helped other publishers implement subscription models, is laying off about 25% of staff or 54 people. (The Wall Street Journal)
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has praised local journalism's role in the August riots and said Google and Facebook don't boost this content enough: "They were penetrating that disinformation... helping to create calm in communities and we lose them at our peril.” (The Independent)
Previously on Press Gazette
Daily Mail CEO on Google lawsuits, AI and why future of news is bright
Reach CEO Jim Mullen says regulation needed to save free online news
Gary Jones, editor credited with detoxifying Express, bows out
Who owns Tortoise Media? The billionaire backers behind Observer bid
James Harding says plan to buy Observer is boost to ‘liberal journalism’
Nottingham Post vindicated over characterisation of police ‘non-disclosable’ briefing
TBIJ, Open Democracy and Bristol Cable join press regulator Impress
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